ABC Plays Up Bloomberg's Call for More Gun Control, But Admits It Won't Happen

Good Morning America Sunday co-host Bianna Golodryga played up
calls by liberal Mayor Michael Bloomberg for more gun control in the
wake of Friday's mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado. This occurred even
as George Stephanopoulos conceded that no new gun control legislation
would be passed.

Golodryga touted, "One person who is very outspoken about it,
Mayor Michael Bloomberg said that no other developed country in the
world has this issue that we do."

Stephanopoulos parroted, "That's exactly right." This segment occurred just two days after Stephanopoulos and Brian Ross smeared the Tea Party as possibly being connected to the mass killing.

Stephanopoulos
acknowledged the reality of the situation regarding gun control,
describing the killer, James Holmes, as someone who "snapped." He added,
"Nothing in his background would have prevented him getting the guns
that he sought."

The host pointed out, "...Even after all these tragedies in the last
decade or so, we have seen support for gun control restrictions has
actually declined in the United States."

ABC's Ross ultimately apologized for incorrectly suggesting the shooter could be a Tea Party member.

Stephanopoulos introduced Ross on Friday to slime the Tea Party:
"You've been looking- investigating the background of Jim Holmes here.
You've found something that might be significant."

Ross then recklessly speculated, "There is a Jim Holmes of Aurora,
Colorado page on the Colorado Tea Party site as well. Talking about him
joining the Tea Party last year. Now, we don't know if this the same Jim
Holmes."

Unlike Ross, Stephanopoulos hasn't addressed the false claims.

A transcript of the July 22 segment can be found below:

8:13

BIANNA GOLODRYGA: And as we said, President Obama is heading to Aurora
today. Both the President and the Republican Mitt Romney basically
stopped campaigning after the massacre. But the question remains, what
impact will this event- and the revived debate over gun control- have on
this race? For more on this, let's go to ABC's George Stephanopoulos,
co-host of GMA and This Week. Great to see you, George. So, this
massacre put politics on hold, but how long can that last?

ABC GRAPHIC: President to Aurora Today: Will Gun Issue Heat Up?

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Probably not much longer. You saw the President
as you said, he's going to Aurora today, but then he's going to move on
and continue with the campaign swing to the west coast. He's going to
go to Nevada. He's going to go to Washington State. So, he'll begin to
campaign again, by tomorrow at the latest. And then at the same time,
Mitt Romney who as you say, suspended, basically, campaigning on Friday,
is planning a major overseas trip. He's going to Israel. He's going to
Poland. He's going to Great Britain starting on Wednesday, and that's
going to continue as well. So, I think we'll gradually get back to full
reengagement on this campaign.

GOLODRYGA: And both the President and Mitt Romney spoke out after this
massacre on Friday. But neither one of them addressed the issue of gun
control. It's something that comes up every couple of years when we have
a massacre like we've seen. Is this going to move anything? Is this
going to change at all, especially during an election year?

STEPHANOPOULOS: I doubt it. Especially as we learn more about the
killer and pretty clear that this is a person who snapped. As our Pierre
Thomas has pointed out, had a pretty clean background. Nothing in his
background would have prevented him getting the guns that he sought. And
one of the other things that we have seen, even after all these
tragedies in the last decade or so, we have seen support for gun control
restrictions has actually declined in the United States. Neither
candidate wants to talk about it. I don't expect that to change.

GOLODRYGA: It's interesting. One person who is very outspoken about
it, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said that no other developed country in the
world has this issue that we do.

STEPHANOPOULOS: That's exactly right.

GOLODRYGA: But a lot of people are talking about this. George, all right. Thank you so much.

-- Scott Whitlock is the senior news analyst for the Media Research Center. Click here to follow him on Twitter.

Federal employees and military personnel can donate to the Media Research Center through the Combined Federal Campaign or CFC. To donate to the MRC, use CFC #12489. Visit the CFC website for more information about giving opportunities in your workplace.